A weekly newsletter for all your intellectual, spiritual, and physical needs
Hello all! Welcome to Volume 257 of Dovi’s Digest!
We all love a laugh, especially when it’s a good one. There are very few things that beat those side-splitting moments, when you have tears rolling down your cheeks and you’re gasping for breath.
They don’t come around often, and I try to hold onto them when I can, reliving them in my memory.
One of my favourites happened over ten years ago. A close friend had recently gotten married and had been gifted a beautiful set of glasses which were said to be very resilient, if not nigh unbreakable. He claimed that they’d been dropped a few times and had survived. We assumed that the claims were dubious, and couldn’t stop prickling him about it. We did stop at actually daring him to prove it. Little did we know that something beautiful was about to happen. This friend, let’s call him Steven (as that’s his name) took things into his own hands, and to prove his beliefs, picked up his glass and proceeded to hit it on the table. Of course, it shattered everywhere. We were all howling with laughter at this. We all chipped in to clean up and carried on with supper, with our ribbing redoubled. Naturally, his new wife was less than impressed when she heard the story. My dear friend (who has an advanced degree I may add), decided to re-enact the story for her, just to show that he wasn’t really at fault. Of course, his wife knew about these specially unbreakable glasses. Steve picked up his new glass, and lightly demonstrated what he had done. Once again, the glass (being glass) effectively exploded, hilarity ensued, leaving at least one person on the floor unable to breathe from laughing.
Turns out, they were special unbreakable glasses due to a coating on them. However, due to a combination of using a dishwasher (which stripped this coating), and hitting the glass at just the right angle, it all came crashing down (literally) around him.
This week’s headline article isn’t about these glasses, but it is about unbreakable glasses from East Germany, and how they’re making a comeback now.
In this week’s added extras:
This game has you name the movie from a series of screenshots.
A list of rejected UK company names, such as “Super Sonic Booty Bangers Ltd.”
You’ll wish you were actually invited to day drink with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Seth Meyers.
Can you solve the martini glass puzzle?
Do you enjoy the Digest? Would you like it to get better? Then please consider sharing it, as the more articles I’m sent, the better it is. It only takes a few seconds, and all you need to do is click here 👇. Thank you!
Turns out last week I was wrong. There were two correct answers, but inexplicably they both went to my junk mail. So well done to Jeff C and Chaim E!!! There were TWO correct answers to last week’s brainteaser. Well done to Yona G and Jeff C!! The answer and this week’s riddle are below.
Keep those articles (and everything else) coming.
Have a great weekend,
Dovi
And now, the articles:
How East Germany Invented ‘Unbreakable’ Drinking Glasses
In the 1980s, a company called Superfest pioneered extra strong glass – but it disappeared with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Now it’s making a comeback.
What It’s Really Like to Face Off with A Grizzly — And Live to Tell the Tale
As bear habitat is fragmented and lost due to humans developing on wildlands, close encounters are more common. Two men tell their story of survival.
Meet The 'Invisible Crew' Who Have 35 Seconds to Prevent a Eurovision Blunder
(Courtesy of Yisroel G)
Thirty-five seconds. That's all the time you get to change the set at Eurovision.
How Come We’ve Never Observed a Black Hole Decaying?
According to Stephen Hawking, spontaneously emitted radiation should cause all black holes to decay. But we’ve never seen it: not even once.
The Price of Remission
When I was diagnosed with cancer, I set out to understand why a single pill of Revlimid cost the same as a new iPhone. I’ve covered high drug prices as a reporter for years. What I discovered shocked even me.
The Gospel of Change
Traveling in an RV empowers a seeker to make peace with an ever-evolving world.
The Unabomber’s Brother Turned Him In. Then Spent 27 Years Trying to Win Him Back.
Ted Kaczynski, whose anti-tech rants are finding a new generation of readers, shunned the brother who called the F.B.I. in an effort to halt his campaign of violence.
Quote of the Week:
"I can't even be bothered to be apathetic these days" – Will Duggan
Word of the Week:
(Courtesy of Eylon L)
Mephistophelian
muh-fiss-tuh-FEA-lee-uhn/ˌmɛfɪstəˈfiːlɪən,mɪˌfɪstəˈfiːlɪən,mɛfɪˌstɒfɪˈliːən/
adjective
wicked; fiendish.
"a Mephistophelian cackle"
Do you know a word you think others should know about? Submit it here!
Facts of the Week:
Britons feel they need to keep only six of the Ten Commandments.
Tenpin bowling evolved from a German religious ceremony.
Only two members of the US Congress say they don’t believe in God.
The bar-tailed godwit can fly 6,800 miles without a rest.
Songbirds get angry when their rivals are better at singing.
A blackbird can sing two songs simultaneously and harmonise with itself.
40,000 Highland midges can land on a single human arm in one hour.
Asian elephants have the same female sex pheromone as 140 species of moth.
Cartoon of the Week:
Tweet of the Week:
Headline of the Week:
Brainteaser of the Week:
What do the following words all have in common?
HUBS, ABOMA, TRACER, DOMAINS, ANTRUM, AIRHORNS
Last week’s brainteaser and answer:
Below are the chapter headings for the Wikipedia article of a famous historical figure. Who is it?
1. Name
2. Birth and historical background
3. Early life
4. Chinon
5. Military campaigns
6. Trials and execution
7. Visions
8. Clothing
9. Legacy
Answer:
Joan of Arc
Volume 256 Answers:
1. Which of these is NOT an anagram of a breed of dog?
- Nitrate
- Looped (Poodle)
- Tea garden (Great Dane)
- Tester (Setter)
2. Which pair of words are BOTH anagrams of countries?
- Moan and Planes
- Ignite and Chain
- Serial and Rabies (Israel and Serbia)
- Regalia and Candela
3. Which pair of words are NOT both anagrams of chemical elements?
- Ringtone and Groan (nitrogen and argon)
- Sliver and Deal (silver and lead)
- Nit and Humidor (tin and rhodium)
- Snuggest and None
4. Which of these has an anagram that has the opposite meaning to itself?
- Angered
- On the sly (Honestly)
- Twelve plus one
- Evil